Gbadamosi Oladimeji
The Kaduna State Government has insisted that all markets and places of worship to remain closed until further notice in a bid to curtail the spread of coronavirus virus in the state.
The Special Adviser to the state Governor, Muyiwa Adekeye, made this known in a statement issued on Tuesday.
However, the decision to close places of worship in Kaduna State had been taken and enforced in March 2020 by the state government as part of the proclamation of the Quarantine Orders against COVID-19 in the state.
On Tuesday, the state government noted that activities would remain closed.
Adekeye also said that they have started engagements with business leaders, community, and religious leaders to discuss and agree on the protocols for the safe re-opening of businesses, markets and resumption of congregational worship.
“Until such consultations result in a formal announcement authorising businesses, markets and places of worship to reopen, it will be a violation of subsisting Quarantine Orders for anybody to reopen any unauthorised facility, market or places of worship or to conduct congregational worship of any sort”, adding that “places of worship in Kaduna State were not closed by the Federal Government.”
The state government also noted that it maintains its prohibition of interstate and intercity travel, adding that government officials and mobile courts will continue to enforce the ban to prevent people from spreading the virus through non-essential movement.
He further stated that the 6:00 pm to 6:00 am curfew remains.
“Kaduna State is not one of the three states and the FCT where the Federal Government imposed a lockdown. The steps taken to ease such federally imposed lockdowns in the concerned places should not be construed as the Federal Government relaxing in all states conditions that it did not impose in the first place.
“Kaduna State has its own well-articulated roadmap for reopening, and this was published last week as a public document for the views and inputs of the citizens of the state. That is why when it extended the Quarantine Orders by two weeks on 26th May 2020; it also announced steps to ease some of the restrictions. These included increasing lockdown-free days to three and allowing approved businesses and facilities to open on those three days,” he noted.
“The quarantine extension announced by the Deputy Governor, Dr. Hadiza Balarabe, on 26th May, 2020, made clear that schools, places of worship and markets will remain closed under the adjusted orders”, he added.
“The relevant government officials and agencies will be engaging with religious leaders, transport unions, traditional institutions, market unions, school proprietors and other stakeholders as may be identified from time to time, to discuss the conditions and circumstances for a safe reopening of these sectors,” the statement added.
